1. Field of Application
The present invention generally relates to the field of meal preparation and delivery.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a device for delivering meals at an appropriate temperature, particularly for use in hospitals.
2. Prior Art
In hospital environment, it is known that the preparation of meals to be delivered to patients is essentially carried out through two main operating methods.
One of these operating methods provides for the cooking and/or assembly of fresh foods in appropriate kitchens, in order to prepare the desired meals, and for the delivery of said meals to patients by means of appropriate trays.
On the contrary, the other method provides for the cooking of fresh foods, the cooling of cooked foods at a temperature of about 4xc2x0 C. or lower and food preservation in appropriate refrigerating rooms.
Before being delivered to patients, foods are suitably portioned to form the desired meals and revived by heating at a temperature of about 60-65xc2x0 C.
It is also known that law requirements in force in this field provide that, once the foods prepared or revived to form the meals, they must not undergo considerable changes in temperature till the actual delivery to patients.
More particularly, in the case of cooked food prepared according to the above-mentioned methods, it is necessary to ensure that the food temperature is kept within the narrow range of 60-70xc2x0 C. from the preparation or reviving till the delivery to patients.
On the contrary, in the case of food to be served cool, whether cooked or not, the same law requirements provide for the food temperature to be kept around 4xc2x0 C.
In order to satisfy law requirements, several devices for delivering means have been developed, in which appropriate means are provided for keeping foods at the desired temperature till the actual delivery to patients.
Some of these devices comprise, as means for maintaining food temperature, convection furnaces equipped with fans and conditioners and/or coolers based on hermetic compressors.
Said devices are very expensive and complex both for their structure and operation, they are difficult to transport and require a difficult and expensive maintenance.
Another kind of device commonly used in hospitals for delivering meals at an appropriate temperature comprises a transport cart equipped with shelves for receiving trays which support containers or dishes containing the meals to be delivered to patients.
The trays include a plurality of thermal energy transfer devices effective to keep the food at the appropriate delivery temperature and, in case of reviving, also to raise the food at said temperature.
The transport cart is equipped, in turn, with an electric energy source operatively connected to each of said transfer devices and comprises a control panel equipped with switches effective to activate or deactivate individually said devices, as required.
Although this last device substantially satisfies the aim, it has such serious drawback that it is not possible to carry out a proper control and keeping of food temperature till the actual delivery to patients.
Moreover, said device unfavourably requires the operator manual intervention for activating the thermal energy transfer devices, risking therefore to make mistakes and, particularly, to overheat food.
Finally, trays are of quite complex and complicated construction and the weight thereof is relatively high because of the presence of thermal energy transfer devices.
The technical problem underlying the present invention is to provide a device for delivering meals at an appropriate temperature with such structural and functional features to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks related to prior art devices.
Such a technical problem is solved by a device for delivering meals at an appropriate temperature comprising:
a transport cart equipped with at least one electric energy source,
a plurality of plates supported or fastened to said transport cart, each plate comprising at least one thermal energy transfer device, which is operatively connected to the electric energy source,
a plurality of trays, each tray being removably associated to a plate of said plurality of plates and having at least one seat for receiving a container or dish containing the meal to be delivered,
a unit for automatic measuring of the container or dish temperature located on each plate of said plurality of plates,
processing means operatively connected to the unit for automatic measuring of the container or dish temperature, which processing means automatically activates said at least one thermal energy transfer device respectively for heating or cooling when the temperature measured in the container or dish is respectively higher than a maximum value or lower than a minimum value out of a predetermined temperature range.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, each plate of said plurality of plates also comprises a unit for detecting the presence of a container or dish containing a meal to be revived in said at least one seat.